Report Card: Grading MTSU athletics in 2014-15

MTSU’s 2014 football season was a tale of two halves. The Blue Raiders started the year 4-2 and appeared to be destined for a second straight bowl berth but MTSU finished the year 2-4 and missed out on the postseason for the second time in three years.(Photo: AP)

MURFREESBORO – By all accounts, MTSU stole the show in its first year in Conference USA in 2013-14.

And although the Blue Raiders didn't have the same level of high-end success in its second year in the league — no bowl game, no conference championships by the four major sports, they did still prove they were good enough to compete in the league as a whole.

With that in mind, The Daily News Journal reviewed the Blue Raiders' athletic exploits in 2014-15 and handed out grades for each of the four major sports and the non-revenue programs.

Letter grades were given based on overall record, predicted finish within C-USA, actual finish within C-USA and where each program's season ranked in regards to the team's recent and historical success.

With the academic year over, here's a look at the school's report card:

After starting 2014 4-2, MTSU closed its season with a 2-4 record and despite gaining bowl eligibility, the Blue Raiders were left out of the postseason for the second time in the last three years.(Photo: USA TODAY Sports)

FOOTBALL

Grade: C-; Record: 6-6 (5-3 C-USA); C-USA Finish: 2nd (East Division)

MTSU started strong then fell apart on the gridiron in 2014.

A 4-2 mark through the first half of the year was followed by a 2-4 mark down the stretch, including 1-3 in the month of November. The team's lone win the last month of the season came on a last-minute, game-winning drive too.

The end result was an unimpressive 6-6 record that didn't conclude in a postseason berth and was a step back from the previous two seasons of eight wins each.

It marked the second time in the past three seasons the team got bowl-eligible but didn't make a bowl game too.

The young team did fill several needs with its recruiting class in February though and will return 16 starters next season in hopes of getting back to the postseason.

Middle Tennessee’s Perrin Buford center, reacts after being called for fouling a Charlotte player during the first half of a Conference USA tournament first round NCAA basketball game in Birmingham, Ala., Wednesday, March 11, 2015. Middle Tennessee’s Jacquez Rozier (42) and DJ Jones look on. (AP Photo/ AL.com, Mark Almond) MAGS OUT(Photo: AP)

MEN'S BASKETBALL

Grade: C+; Record: 19-17 (9-9 C-USA); C-USA Finish: 6th

Despite a roster of nine new players when the season began, the Blue Raiders came within one game of earning its second NCAA tournament berth in the past three seasons after advancing to the C-USA championship game despite middling around a .500 record for the entire regular season.

MTSU's run at the end of the year including the conference tournament – 6-2 in the final four weeks – will be remembered for a while. It resulted in a CollegeInsider.com Tournament bid too, which should help the team this fall when its new season starts.

But it doesn't overshadow what coach Kermit Davis called the "worst shooting performance" of his coaching career early in the season against Murray State, the team's exhibition loss to Martin Methodist, the fact that it failed to get to 20 wins for the first time since 2010-11 or its 19-17 overall record, including a 4-10 mark in road games.

The good news? The Raiders should be in line for a really good season in 2015-16 with the players they have returning and considering its finish to 2014-15.

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The MTSU women’s basketball team finished second in the Conference USA before making the WNIT in March.(Photo: HELEN COMER/DNJ)

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL

Grade: B; Record: 24-10 (14-4 C-USA); C-USA Finish: 2nd

The Lady Raiders were picked to win C-USA despite the loss of six seniors from the 2013-14 roster. The preseason tabbing was probably too high for a team that returned just one senior and one junior who had ever started a game.

The rise and subsequent fall of former standout Cheyenne Parker, the No. 5 pick in last month's WNBA Draft, was a black eye for the program, as its streak of six straight NCAA appearances came to a end too.

MTSU still finished second in C-USA in the regular season and made the WNIT, where it achieved the deepest postseason run in any national tournament in school history before losing in the quarterfinals to Temple.

Coach Rick Insell's ability to reinvent the team's identity in March after Parker's dismissal on Feb. 27 can't be understated either. It was also the 10th time in Insell's 10 years at the helm the Lady Raiders reached 20 wins.

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The MTSU baseball team led the Conference USA standings for much of the season before finishing fourth after being picked to finish eighth in the preseason.(Photo: John A. Gillis/DNJ)

BASEBALL

Grade: B+; Record: 32-27 (19-11 C-USA); C-USA Finish: 4th

When comparing what a team accomplished with what it was predicted to in the preseason, no MTSU program accomplished more in 2014-15 than the baseball team.

After being picked to finish eighth, the Blue Raiders led or were tied for lead in the C-USA standings for the first eight weeks of the league slate before finishing the conference season 1-5 to fall into fourth place.

MTSU turned in its most wins (32) since 2010 (34) and boasted a 29-17 record in weekend series.

The one thing that kept the team from securing its first regional berth since 2009 though was its midweek record. The Raiders finished 3-10 in midweek games, which kept the team from making a regional and kept the grade from being higher.

OTHER SPORTS

Grade: A

Non-revenue sports don't get a lot of publicity or a lot of fan support but MTSU's smaller teams carried the banner for the athletic department in 2014-15 in terms of success.

The cross country and women's golf teams were the only teams to win C-USA team championships. Emily Williams made the first-ever appearance by a Lady Raiders golfer in the NCAA championship too.

The women's tennis team won 16 of 18 matches in a row at one point — including eight straight.

And the track and field teams continued its success under long-time coach Dean Hayes. John Ampomah leads the NCAA in the javelin and several others — India Hammond, Jackline Kiptebeny, Vincent Okot and Atsu Nyamadi — could or will join him at the national championships in Eugene, Oregon, next month.

Contact MTSU beat writer Will Borthick at wborthick@dnj.com or 615-278-5167. Follow him on Twitter @willborthick.